My thoughts and my journey through life's sweet path

The Social Butterfly. Not.

Good gosh, has it been almost a MONTH since I wrote??? Where has time flown???

I have been caught up with so.many.things and blogging has taken a backseat.

The dinner went exceptionally well, and surprise, surprise, the chicken curry was polished off in no time. I wish I had made more. I made a foolproof Chocolate and Pistachio Fudge adapted from Nigella Lawson and now I’m hooked. Its easy peasy, and tastes wonderful. I suppose half of the yum factor comes from the 70% Cocoa Lindt chocolate that I used.

I have been attending Italian lessons and making friends with people of various nationalities, and it’s wonderful to know all the different people and cultures that one normally isn’t accustomed to. I have classmates from Morocco, Nigeria, Russia, Ukraine, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Peru, Brazil, Germany, Dominican Republic, The Philippines and China. A few of us are going out for pizza tonight. I look forward to that; a mix of cultures and all speaking the same language: broken Italian 😀

And of course, there’s ol’ me from Malaysia. I mention Malaysia and I see some furrowed eyebrows. I cannot believe that in this day and age, some people STILL don’t know where Malaysia is! And many a time, they confuse Malaysia for Indonesia. So Indonesia and Malaysia may be neighbours, but we’re as different as can be. And the look of confusion continues to wash upon people’s face when I tell them that I speak English at home. But I cook Indian, Chinese and traditional Malay food. How does one explain something as complicated as this? For Malaysians, it’s something that we have taken for granted, how diverse and different we are, and yet “Malaysian” in one way or another.

Oh well, I’ve gotten used to those strange looks and furrowed eyebrows, and the slight flicker of cognisance when I explain that Malaysia is where we have the Petronas Twin Towers and Sepang F1 track. Actually I quite like being “special” that way 😉

What else. Oh, too much. Where do I start. We made a short visit to Lake Como a few weeks ago, and it RAINED all the time. It miraculously stopped for about 2 hours when we arrived, so we hurriedly snapped some photos before going on a hunting trip for George Clooney for lunch. We dropped by a fellow Malaysian’s house in Varese, and that warm, inviting Malaysian hospitality was something that I missed and hence, happily accepted. Not to mention the wonderful Malaysian food – nasi beryani, chicken kapitan, kambing masak kicap and the drool worthy Malaysian kuih bakar, and kek gula hangus.

I get to go home soon for my sister’s wedding, and I’m so very excited, although a little disappointed that I will have to leave my little students behind. It’s funny how one becomes attached to one’s students, seeing them grow intellectually, from not understanding a single English word to playing English word games and Halloween games with me. I also had to turn down more offers to teach as I don’t want to be leaving in the middle of the school term and leaving the kids teacher-less. I am excited that I will be able to eat all that glorious Malaysian food again, that I will be able to cuddle and squeeze my little Shih Tzu that I miss like crazy, that I get to bug my mom to cook me my favourite foods. Though I have been told that this time, they expect me to cook at home, since they have been reading my cooking posts and have somehow conjured this notion that I am some sort of a cook. NOT!

And oh, the hubs will bring me to Fidenza Outlet Mall this weekend to look for a dress to wear to the sister’s wedding. I don’t have such high expectations as the shops would most likely have only Fall/Winter collection. Plus, I wonder how much a Cavalli/Valentino/Versace dress would cost. ACK. I’m not exactly one for brands, especially when it comes to dresses, but oh well, I guess we’ll see. I wish we lived in the UK, for I would be able to traipse into any highstreet store and buy a decent dress for a fraction of the prices they have here.

Wow, it’s been some time since I wrote a long rambly post like this hasn’t it? Excuse me while I go shopping wash the dishes 😉

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One Response

You’re right 🙂 There’s something about Malaysian hospitality…nothing compares to it. When I was in UK visiting a distant relative (they knew my mother well, I was just so-and-so’s daughter) they’d serve you before they ate, give you their room to stay in, and of course make all those delicious dishes. When I visited my uncle in SF recently, his wife offered to make tea for me. I was like “You make Malaysian tea right?” and she said “I try” and I was like “In that case, definitely!” and oh my goodness, it tasted like heaven.

Sometimes living away from Malaysia is so difficult – when you can’t find simple ingredients or the food that we took for granted while were home. Another thing I took for granted was the variety – the number of clothing stores they have in KL is like nobody will wear what you are wearing. It’s so easy to find what you like/want/need.

I have my company Christmas party next month and I usually wear a Punjabi Suit for fun (the only time in the year I actually wear one in Norway) but this time the suit could not be tailored and mailed to me in time from KL to Oslo. So I had to look around for something here. I wanted a formal top to wear with black slacks and it took me 3 visits to the stores to find it. Soooo frustrating. I kept thinking that if this was KL, I’d have found something in 30 minutes 🙂

OK, I’ll keep quiet now 🙂

WJ: Hahahah, you crack me up with your last sentence. But yes, we always take things for granted until we don’t have them anymore.